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KENYATTA HILL
Kenyatta Hill’s career began the day his father’s ended. Joseph Hill,
singer and songwriter for the legendary Jamaican vocal trio Culture,
collapsed and died while on a 2006 tour of Europe. To the amazement of
promoters, fans and critics alike, Kenyatta stepped onstage and
delivered electrifying performances time and again - nineteen shows in
all - until the tour was complete. This was unheard of in any genre of
music at any time. Kenyatta gave of himself so totally – as his father
had for so many years – that the two seemed to become one, the eerily
similar voices and the vibes igniting the critics and yielding a new
reggae mantra “magic, not tragic!”
At the Ranny Williams Center in Kingston Jamaica at the memorial concert
for his father, Kenyatta’s performance with Culture was the highlight in
a star studded night and garnered him the rousing support of the
hard-to-please Kingston reggae audience. Kenyatta went on to front
Culture in a series of performances in the US, Caribbean, Brazil,
Argentina and Peru, again leaving audiences amazed and delighted.
Influenced by elements of dancehall, grounded in the roots tradition and
motivated to carry on his father’s work, Kenyatta set to writing – to
finish songs that Joseph had started and create new music of his own. On
his poignant debut single, “Daddy,” (Tafari Records), backed by a
masterful roster of musicians including Sly Dunbar and Dean Fraser, and
produced by Lynford “Fatta” Marshall, he confronted the emotional pain
and uncertainty he felt after the loss of his father. He cried while he
wrote, just as audiences in Europe had cried while he sang.
Pass the Torch, the complete CD described as having “a collector’s item
feel,” was released in 2007 to longtime Culture fans and critics who
have embraced the son, named for Jomo Kenyatta, the first Prime minister
of Kenya. With its “very lovely and high level vibe” Kenyatta Hill’s
first CD prompted one longtime Culture fan to proclaim “Culture is
ALIVE.”
Indeed, Culture featuring Kenyatta Hill continues to share the wisdom of
Joseph’s conscious reggae overlaid with Kenyatta’s own lively and
youthful musical vision. Touring in support of Pass the Torch with a
number of festival appearances continued throughout 2009, including most
recently a highly successful US tour with Beres Hammond.
Solo tour dates with a new band can be expected in 2010 as Kenyatta Hill
expands his musical horizons beyond his formidable roots.
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